Multicultural Team Communication

3. Communication, cohesion and trust, the clockwork behind team successfulness
(Maznevski, 1994) defines effective communication as method to transmit meaning, which will be kept as intended, from one person to another or others. Obviously, effective communication within a team is a desirable feature. It promotes comprehension between the team members and productively utilizes new pieces of information brought into the team. However, previously in chapter 2, there could potentially two different communication styles, the LCC and HCC presented within a team. Moreover, the difference in languages itself un-doubtedly contributes to the complexity in multicultural team communication. Thus, it is clear that communication is a problematic issue

Fault line as defined in Oxford dictionary is a divisive issue or difference of opinion that is likely to have serious consequences. However, in this context it should be understand as a split in teams spawning from the alignment of differ-ent types of diversity in a team (oxforddictionaries.com, 2016). For example, a global team may consist of two product designers, two financers, and two marketers, together from Ger-many, US and Vietnam. If all the product designers are from Germany, all financers are from US and all marketers are from Vietnam, then the working division and cultural division are both influencing the forces towards divergence in the group. This could be immensely hard to overcome. On the other side, if each of the departments (functions) is a collective group of different cultures, the clear division into sub-cultural groups will be reduced. Therefore, the whole team will find the divergent and convergent processes

In a globalized world, leadership is not only about interpersonal but also about intercultural skills. This paper is aimed to provide the prominent differences between international team and single-culture team management. In particular, the cultural aspect in multinational groups is what makes it distinctive. Leader of multi-cultural team should be aware of the individual cultural background (HCC or LCC) but also about group composition, whether the team is rather homogeneous in cultural terms or not. Many studies have shown that highly culturally heterogeneous teams are one of the most efficient team-formation, not to mention a higher degree of innovation, as well as broader contact points. However, quite often the leaders or team members are elected or assigned to a team in which it is not possible to change the com-ponent at all or to do so drastically. Thus, adaptation via training could be a good approach to cope with cultural differences when or before conducting business. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that cultural elements should not be kept separated from the team managing routine. By comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences between the approaches of leading international team and a one culture ones, chapter 3 aimed to display the underlying procedures and processes that are occurring inside the dynamics of a